8 Feng Shui Tips To Keep You Grounded & Empowered

Empowerment in the modern world has never been more easy or more difficult, depending on how you view it.

We're now all connected in a truly global way, and though we may have a zillion easy ways to communicate and more access than ever before to incredible information…

... so many of us feel disconnected.

Many clients come to me seeking empowerment — a feeling of fulfillment and having a life of purpose - while they struggle to reconcile that desire with their modern life of hyper-speed everything.

In feng shui, when you live a life largely driven by mental processes - texting, typing, reading, watching, thinking - you have an excess of metal energy. In layman’s terms: you get stuck in your head.

It’s so ironic that so much mental labor can lead you to feel totally out of your mind.

This excess of mental “metal energy” manifests in headaches, loneliness, a feeling of being flighty, anxious or disconnected. At its most chaotic, this metal overload can leave us feeling out of control, flighty, weak, trapped or just generally numb.

Not desirable at all!

We experience life through our senses. People stuck in their head are not present enough to experience most of the sensory world around them.

If you're a "space cadet," you likely need to get grounded. You need more Earth in your life.

Being grounded means being peaceful, connected to the flow of the your life. Grounded people are vibrant, present, engaging, warm and confident.

Simply put: being grounded feels incredible.

Here are some feng shui ways to help you get there!

1. Watch for too much electricity.

If you live close to lots of power lines outside, put lots of plants in your house to absorb the excess electrical energy. Don’t overload outlets with plugs. Properly plug in all appliances. I recently learned that my stove was plugged illegally into an extension cord. I never felt comfortable there. Now that it's grounded, it's my favorite space to be.

2. Try some silence.

Turn your phone off. Close the computer for a siesta. Take some down time or a full day off if you can. Be quiet.

3. Eat more root veggies: beets, carrots, parsnips.

This is a simple way to literally consume more of the Earth’s energy.

4. Visit a forest or some big, local trees.

Lush trees with deep roots are the ultimate in grounded energy. Sit with them. Lean against them. Plant trees where they can be planted. If you are a city dweller living far from the woods, indoor trees in giant pots are incredible, too.

5. Give crystals and stones a shot.

Born from the raw materials of our planet’s layers, shaped by force and attraction into magnificent forms, crystals are one of my favorite ways to feel more stable. While some healing modalities assign metaphysical properties to certain crystals, I find that their incredible colors and their uniqueness are, in themselves, practical magic. A big crystal in a chaotic office can help diffuse the tension. Even a handful of stones collected from places you have visited (people send me stones from around the world!) can make a chaotic place feel more at ease.

6. Add some clay.

Ceramics, pottery and clay sculptures are all born of the earth. Some unglazed terra-cotta pots full of plants can be divine and easy to bring into your home. Collect a few vases and put them on display. Fill the spaces you stay in most with Earth element to help you feel more centered.

7. Wear more grounding colors.

We think of the Earth element colors as shades of brown and beige, but you should know that Fire colors (red, orange, hot pink) can also help to ground you. In the feng shui element cycle, Fire is the element that creates and strengthens Earth with its vibrant, magnetic energy. Note: if you're feeling flighty and anxious, too, skip the fire colors and stay with neutrals.

8. Use earthy aromatherapy.

You may or may not have pleasant associations with patchouli, but it's an incredible energetically grounding essential oil. Frankincense and sandalwood are luxurious grounding oils. Easier-to-find cedarwood and lavender are also wonderful. I always test a drop for 24 hours on my wrist before using a new essential oil. If you find ones you love, you can sprinkle a few drops into a bath or even rub a few drops directly on the soles of your feet.

It is amazing to see how dynamic we can be when we are actually grounded. Experiment and find one or a few ways that work to make you feel calm and centered. When you feel yourself getting scattered and spacey, you will know how to get back to your space of empowerment!

Dana Claudat

Designer & Feng Shui Master

Dana Claudat is a designer, Pyramid School feng shui master, and founder of the holistic and artistic lifestyle blog The Tao of Dana. A Stanford-educated art historian with nearly a decade of experience in design, feng shui, research, and writing about the ways that changing spaces can change lives, Dana has fused art, science, and feng shui into her own style of expansive design.
In addition to serving mindbodygreen as an expert for many years, Dana has been a guest curator for Saatchi Online, and her work has been featured in Glamour, Lonny, Huffington Post, Blake Lively's Preserve, and many more global media outlets.
She is based in Los Angeles, and her design and feng shui clients include Hollywood A-list creators and vibrant entrepreneurs, as well as artists and creatives around the world seeking more creativity, clarity, love, and empowerment in their homes and their lives.
You can learn more about working with Dana on your own expansive design—from anywhere you are in the world—here.For more art, design, and lifestyle inspiration, you can follow Dana on Pinterest and Facebook.